Kidnapped American rescued in Palawan; Navy officer tagged as mastermind

MANILA, Philippines - Police rescued a handicapped American woman and arrested the driver of a van who, along with a Navy officer, allegedly abducted her last Friday night in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.

Chief Superintendent Luisito Palmera, Mimaropa police director, ordered a province-wide manhunt for Navy Commander Rodrigo Jaca, who was tagged as the alleged mastermind in the abduction of 66-year-old Marylee Moore, who hails from Fort Collins, Colorado in the United States.

Palmera said van driver Rommel Frias, 39, implicated Jaca, assigned at the Naval Systems Engineering Center in Cavite City, in the abduction.

“We have already sealed off all exit points in seaports and airports to prevent him from leaving the island-province,” said Palmera.

Jaca was formerly assigned at the Armed Forces’ Western Command in Palawan.

Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo said they have sent a team to help track down Jaca.

“We have learned that he had booked a flight to Manila that’s why we sent a team together with police personnel to convince him to turn himself in. Unfortunately he did not show up at the airport for his supposed flight,” Arevalo said.

Initial reports reaching Palmera said Moore, a handicapped diabetic, and her caregiver, Cynthia Castro-Kramer, were on their way home in Barangay Masikap, Puerto Princesa City when a green Delica van blocked their white Elf-type van near a basketball court in Barangay Tagumpay at around 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Jaca, who was reportedly wearing a black jacket and sporting a wig, rushed out of the Delica and at gunpoint, allegedly threatened to kill Kramer by squeezing the trigger. The handgun, a caliber .45 pistol, misfired.

At this juncture, Kramer managed to escape.

Jaca, according to reports, allegedly took Kramer’s black bag containing a cellular phone worth P15,000, credit card, driver’s license, passport, plane tickets, P20,000 cash, important documents and assorted jewelry worth P100,000 before fleeing toward Puerto Princesa City.

Tipped off by a lawyer who witnessed the abduction, police teams promptly put up checkpoints to intercept Moore’s abductors.

Heading the police teams were Senior Superintendent Abelardo Rellora, of the Palawan police office; Superintendent Romie Estefa, Puerto Princesa police chief; Superintendent Flaviano Baltazar, of the Mimaropa police intelligence division, and PO2 Pedro Magbanua, of R-7.

Police eventually intercepted the Delica van driven by Frias on Malvar street in Barangay San Miguel at around 8:30 p.m. Friday and recovered Moore, who was on her wheelchair. Frias gave himself up peacefully.

Frias and Moore were later brought to the local office of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) for documentation and proper disposition.

Chief Inspector Danilo Mendoza, head of the local CIDG field office, filed kidnapping charges against Frias and Jaca before the city prosecutor’s office.

Palmera said Moore remains in CIDG custody pending the manhunt operation against Jaca.

He told The STAR that Jaca was supposedly a spurned suitor of Kramer and could have planned everything to get back at her. – With James Mananghaya